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"Dual Tuner Hacks: using and controlling different sources"
PROCEED WITH CAUTION: This process involves registry editing. Feel free to contact me with any questions or clarifications at 2004@seacoasttechpartners.com. I will update this post with additions/changes to this process. This configuration works for both two separate TV Tuner cards or a single dual tuner TV card. I have successfully tested this with the NVTV dual tuner card and with two Wintv 150mce cards.
|| PREP ||
- Close MCE.
- Backup current registry.
- Backup Media Center branch via export routine: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center
|| PROCESS FOR TWO SEPERATE TV TUNER CARDS ||
TWO TV CARDS: If using a dual tuner card, skip this step. The process will be to setup the first card with no STB and record the registry settings for this configuration. Then you will delete these registry settings and re-setup MCE to use the STB configuration. Then you will merge the two sets of registry settings, and configure your Record and Watch preferences.
STEP 1: SETUP CARD 1 AS DIRECT CONNECTION (no STB)
- Disable the unused TV Tuner card. In Device manager, disable the card you intend to connect to the STB. Do not reboot at this time.
- Close MCE.
- Delete the following registry key branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners
- Reboot PC.
- Setup Media Center Again from within settings - General - Media Center Setup
- choose Manual TV Signal Setup
** For first iteration, choose NO STB and only ONE tuner. This will setup the tuner signal as if direct connection. We will save these settings.
- Select the appropriate service providers on next screen. Let MCE setup guide.
- Verify that the direct connection is complete via live tv.
- Close MCE and open registry.
- Within the Tuners branch (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners) there will be listed a hierarchy of tuners:
1) - {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxx...} = MCE TV Tuner Space
2) - {xxxxxx-xxxx-.....} = First TV Tuner
3) + TuneRequest
4) + UserSettings
5) + DVR
- Export Branch for the First TV Tuner in line 2. (File, Export with line 2 selected). Save the file with a name like "first card - no stb.reg"
STEP 2: SETUP CARD 2 AS STB.
- If open, close MCE.
- Delete the following registry key branch again:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners
- Close the registry.
- In Device Manager, disable direct card and enable STB card.
- Reboot.
- Open MCE and go to Settings, TV, Set Up TV Signal.
- Choose to manually configure signal.
- Choose Yes this time on the "Do you have STB" screen.
- MCE will scan for a signal. If it does not find a signal correctly, choose the signal yourself from the list (channel 2-4, SVideo1/2, etc.).
- Next, go through the remote control setup procedure. This part can be tricky. You should already understand how to setup the STB remote settings before this procedure. If you do not already know this and cannot get past this step, I suggest restarting the procedure and attempt to setup a STB one-card only configuration to determine the remote control setup steps.
- Make sure both IR control cables are plugged into back of IR Receiver and appropriately adhered to the STB. You will test with both plugs first and remove the unused plug later in the process. On the "Test Channel Changing" screen, you may have to click the "Try next IR control cable" button to get the channel changing to work. Once it is working, proceed to next step.
- Close MCE and open the registry.
- Export the Second TV Tuner as in the STEP 1 process. Save the file with a name like "second card - stb.reg"
- Close the registry.
- Import the first TV card tuner settings by double-clicking the firsttvcard.reg file that was saved.
- In Device Manager, enable the first TV Card.
- Reboot.
....SKIP THE NEXT SECTION
|| PROCESS FOR ONE DUAL TV TUNER CARD ||
For a single TV Dual Tuner card setup, your steps are nearly identical to the steps in the above process except:
1. Do not worry about disabling/enabling TV cards through Device Manager.
2. It is important that you setup the no-STB configuration first before the STB configuration.
3. During the Scanning for Signal process, make sure you select the appropriate signal manually from the list matching the current card configuration. That is, MCE may assume you want to use the S-Video1 signal when in fact you are trying to use the Channel 2 as a direct connection.
|| CONFIGURE YOUR WATCH AND RECORD PREFERENCES ||
There are four keys within the Media Center branch pertaining to Watch and Recording preferences:
RecordOrder = Order of Tuners for recording scheduled shows, sequential number starting with 0
RecordPreferred = Not sure how this differs from above key. Flag field, True or False.
WatchOrder = Order of Tuners for watching show when Live TV is started, sequential number starting with 0
WatchPreferred = Not sure how this differs from above key. Flag field, True or False
Here is a view of the Tuners branch after you have successfully merged the no-STB and STB reg files:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners
1) - {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxx...} = MCE TV Tuner Space
2) - {xxxxxx-xxxx-.....} = First TV Tuner
3) + TuneRequest
4) + UserSettings
5) - {xxxxxx-xxxx-.....} = Second TV Tuner
6) + TuneRequest
7) + UserSettings
8) + DVR
You will know what Tuner branch pertains to STB because the UserSettings keys for that Tuner Branch will contain a STBCode key. My recommended configuration is:
-- Direct no-STB TV Tuner should be first choice for viewing, second choice for recording.
-- The STB Tuner should be second choice for viewing, first choice for recording.
I have a few reasons behind this recommendation:
>> First, if you have the STB as the first for Recording, all your scheduled shows should get recorded on all your covered channels. For example, If you schedule a recording for channel 438 and the no-STB tuner is set as the record preferred, the show will not record as the direct connection supports only up to 125 channels.
>> Second, if you set the direct connection as the watch preferred, you will not have to deal with the "channel changing lag time" that is so annoying with the STB IR control cable configuration.
To match this configuration, make the following changes to the settings in the UserSettings keys:
noSTB UserSettings:
RecordOrder = hexadecimal 1
RecordPreferred = hexadecimal 0
WatchOrder = hexadecimal 0
WatchPreferred = hexadecimal ffffff
STB UserSettings:
RecordOrder = 0
RecordPreferred = hexadecimal ffffff
WatchOrder = 1
WatchPreferred = 0
Note that these settings seem to apply only to scheduled recordings and when first launching MCE. At times when watching Live TV, you may see that MCE chooses to utilize a tuner that is not your preferred tuner. To work around this caveat, you must either: A) hit record to "preoccupy" the current tuner and then switch the channel to utilize the desire tuner; or,
close and restart MCE.
|| FINAL STEPS ||
- Test to see if both tuners are working. Record any live channel. Then change the channel. If this set up process worked correctly, you will see one tuner using direct feed and another using STB.
- If working correctly, save a backup export of the MediaCenter Branch to restore later if necessary.
- You may now test to determine which IR control cable is being used with your STB and remove the other from the IR Receiver and STB.
Mike
PROCEED WITH CAUTION: This process involves registry editing. Feel free to contact me with any questions or clarifications at 2004@seacoasttechpartners.com. I will update this post with additions/changes to this process. This configuration works for both two separate TV Tuner cards or a single dual tuner TV card. I have successfully tested this with the NVTV dual tuner card and with two Wintv 150mce cards.
|| PREP ||
- Close MCE.
- Backup current registry.
- Backup Media Center branch via export routine: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center
|| PROCESS FOR TWO SEPERATE TV TUNER CARDS ||
TWO TV CARDS: If using a dual tuner card, skip this step. The process will be to setup the first card with no STB and record the registry settings for this configuration. Then you will delete these registry settings and re-setup MCE to use the STB configuration. Then you will merge the two sets of registry settings, and configure your Record and Watch preferences.
STEP 1: SETUP CARD 1 AS DIRECT CONNECTION (no STB)
- Disable the unused TV Tuner card. In Device manager, disable the card you intend to connect to the STB. Do not reboot at this time.
- Close MCE.
- Delete the following registry key branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners
- Reboot PC.
- Setup Media Center Again from within settings - General - Media Center Setup
- choose Manual TV Signal Setup
** For first iteration, choose NO STB and only ONE tuner. This will setup the tuner signal as if direct connection. We will save these settings.
- Select the appropriate service providers on next screen. Let MCE setup guide.
- Verify that the direct connection is complete via live tv.
- Close MCE and open registry.
- Within the Tuners branch (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners) there will be listed a hierarchy of tuners:
1) - {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxx...} = MCE TV Tuner Space
2) - {xxxxxx-xxxx-.....} = First TV Tuner
3) + TuneRequest
4) + UserSettings
5) + DVR
- Export Branch for the First TV Tuner in line 2. (File, Export with line 2 selected). Save the file with a name like "first card - no stb.reg"
STEP 2: SETUP CARD 2 AS STB.
- If open, close MCE.
- Delete the following registry key branch again:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners
- Close the registry.
- In Device Manager, disable direct card and enable STB card.
- Reboot.
- Open MCE and go to Settings, TV, Set Up TV Signal.
- Choose to manually configure signal.
- Choose Yes this time on the "Do you have STB" screen.
- MCE will scan for a signal. If it does not find a signal correctly, choose the signal yourself from the list (channel 2-4, SVideo1/2, etc.).
- Next, go through the remote control setup procedure. This part can be tricky. You should already understand how to setup the STB remote settings before this procedure. If you do not already know this and cannot get past this step, I suggest restarting the procedure and attempt to setup a STB one-card only configuration to determine the remote control setup steps.
- Make sure both IR control cables are plugged into back of IR Receiver and appropriately adhered to the STB. You will test with both plugs first and remove the unused plug later in the process. On the "Test Channel Changing" screen, you may have to click the "Try next IR control cable" button to get the channel changing to work. Once it is working, proceed to next step.
- Close MCE and open the registry.
- Export the Second TV Tuner as in the STEP 1 process. Save the file with a name like "second card - stb.reg"
- Close the registry.
- Import the first TV card tuner settings by double-clicking the firsttvcard.reg file that was saved.
- In Device Manager, enable the first TV Card.
- Reboot.
....SKIP THE NEXT SECTION
|| PROCESS FOR ONE DUAL TV TUNER CARD ||
For a single TV Dual Tuner card setup, your steps are nearly identical to the steps in the above process except:
1. Do not worry about disabling/enabling TV cards through Device Manager.
2. It is important that you setup the no-STB configuration first before the STB configuration.
3. During the Scanning for Signal process, make sure you select the appropriate signal manually from the list matching the current card configuration. That is, MCE may assume you want to use the S-Video1 signal when in fact you are trying to use the Channel 2 as a direct connection.
|| CONFIGURE YOUR WATCH AND RECORD PREFERENCES ||
There are four keys within the Media Center branch pertaining to Watch and Recording preferences:
RecordOrder = Order of Tuners for recording scheduled shows, sequential number starting with 0
RecordPreferred = Not sure how this differs from above key. Flag field, True or False.
WatchOrder = Order of Tuners for watching show when Live TV is started, sequential number starting with 0
WatchPreferred = Not sure how this differs from above key. Flag field, True or False
Here is a view of the Tuners branch after you have successfully merged the no-STB and STB reg files:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Video\Tuners
1) - {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxx...} = MCE TV Tuner Space
2) - {xxxxxx-xxxx-.....} = First TV Tuner
3) + TuneRequest
4) + UserSettings
5) - {xxxxxx-xxxx-.....} = Second TV Tuner
6) + TuneRequest
7) + UserSettings
8) + DVR
You will know what Tuner branch pertains to STB because the UserSettings keys for that Tuner Branch will contain a STBCode key. My recommended configuration is:
-- Direct no-STB TV Tuner should be first choice for viewing, second choice for recording.
-- The STB Tuner should be second choice for viewing, first choice for recording.
I have a few reasons behind this recommendation:
>> First, if you have the STB as the first for Recording, all your scheduled shows should get recorded on all your covered channels. For example, If you schedule a recording for channel 438 and the no-STB tuner is set as the record preferred, the show will not record as the direct connection supports only up to 125 channels.
>> Second, if you set the direct connection as the watch preferred, you will not have to deal with the "channel changing lag time" that is so annoying with the STB IR control cable configuration.
To match this configuration, make the following changes to the settings in the UserSettings keys:
noSTB UserSettings:
RecordOrder = hexadecimal 1
RecordPreferred = hexadecimal 0
WatchOrder = hexadecimal 0
WatchPreferred = hexadecimal ffffff
STB UserSettings:
RecordOrder = 0
RecordPreferred = hexadecimal ffffff
WatchOrder = 1
WatchPreferred = 0
Note that these settings seem to apply only to scheduled recordings and when first launching MCE. At times when watching Live TV, you may see that MCE chooses to utilize a tuner that is not your preferred tuner. To work around this caveat, you must either: A) hit record to "preoccupy" the current tuner and then switch the channel to utilize the desire tuner; or,
close and restart MCE.|| FINAL STEPS ||
- Test to see if both tuners are working. Record any live channel. Then change the channel. If this set up process worked correctly, you will see one tuner using direct feed and another using STB.
- If working correctly, save a backup export of the MediaCenter Branch to restore later if necessary.
- You may now test to determine which IR control cable is being used with your STB and remove the other from the IR Receiver and STB.
Mike
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